The longer the federal government shutdown goes, the more it will hurt people and the economy and the harder it will be to resolve larger debt-ceiling and annual budget disputes facing Congress later this month, according U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern.

Mr. McGovern, D-Worcester, who took the floor of the House repeatedly Monday urging Republicans to avoid the shutdown by agreeing to a so-called "clean" continuing funding bill without provisions to defund national health care reform, said he is angry and sad they didn't go along.

Calling the shutdown a "reckless" action by "extreme tea party Republicans" who have refused to accept adoption of health care reform, Mr. McGovern said toxic partisan politics are eroding long-held traditions in the House.

"I'm sad because I think some of the best traditions of the U.S. House of Representatives are being trashed," the congressman said. "There used to be a time when you worked out your differences and put the country ahead of party."

Meanwhile, the scope of the shutdown was still being assessed by the public and the media.

Mr. McGovern said long lines formed even at congressional office buildings Tuesday as shutdown furloughs limited staffing to one entrance instead of four and making many people up to an hour late to work in the House.

Some 800,000 federal workers have been furloughed, national parks and monuments are closed, many federal agency websites have been shut down and most federal offices have cut back to skeleton crews, if they open at all.

The military will still get paid but pay for other federal workers could be held up until the impasse is over. Some federal workers were brought in for a half day Tuesday to close down agency web sites and take other steps to close down operations. NASA and the Library of Congress were shut down except for vital functions and the JFK Library and Museum in Boston were closed until further notice, as was the Small Business Administration. The Social Security office in Worcester stopped processing replacement cards and providing Social Security verification, which they said would affect about 150 per day who come in for those two services.

Jill C. Dagilis, executive director of Worcester Community Action Council, which administers home heating assistance for lower income residents, said staff for that program was reduced this summer because of budget sequestration cuts that will also mean less fuel assistance this season. While the maximum benefit last year was $1,125, she said, this year the maximum assistance will be $750.

Ms. Dagilis said it was unclear how the shutdown would impact the startup of that program this fall. She said she tried to contact federal officials overseeing the program Tuesday morning for information, but got a telephone recording saying they weren't available.

"It's my understanding we are using funds from last year to open LIHEAP this year," she said of the heating assistance program. As a result, she said, the shutdown may not affect precertification of applications now, but could jeopardize heating assistance if it continues.

"The risks are going to be considerable because you are talking about the most vulnerable households and seniors" who depend on the program, she said. "A few days might not be disruptive, but certainly if it turns into a week or weeks it definitely will be."

Mr. McGovern said on the day Obamacare insurance exchanges were opening around the country, so that many who have not had insurance or couldn't afford it can get coverage, people should be celebrating the progress. But instead, he said, "the goal of the people shutting this government down right now is about denying people affordable health care."

He complained that the Women, Infants, and Children supplemental nutrition program is shut down and new disability claims for veterans have also been closed. "The American people are paying a heavy price for the extreme ideology of these tea party Republicans," Mr. McGovern said.

Some Bay State Republicans were distancing themselves from the House action.

Republican candidate for governor Charles D. Baker Jr. put out a statement calling the shutdown "an enormous failure of leadership in Washington," without specifying whether he supported the GOP position in the House. "It's disappointing that our leaders in both parties were unwilling to seek common ground and find a bipartisan path forward that didn't include a shutdown," Mr. Baker said. "It's not the type of leadership and experience I will bring to Beacon Hill."

Mr. McGovern argued that if a "clean CR" was put before the House it would pass. He said that Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, would not allow that Monday night. "I think a majority of Republicans would join Democrats and vote for it," Mr. McGovern said.

It remained uncertain Tuesday where the shutdown would lead, although Mr. McGovern said there were signs some GOP House members were backing away from proposals to defund the federal health care law.

"They are going to hear from their constituents and will start feeling the pressure. The question is whether they care," he said. "A number of Republicans defected (Monday) night and I expect that to grow."

Mr. McGovern, a member of the House Rules Committee, said the normal three-day wait to get a new bill through the committee and onto the floor for a vote has been suspended and the committee is ready to speed any new proposals to the floor for a vote.

It is up to House Republicans to come up with a new bill for funding the government through Dec. 15 with provisions that would pass the Senate, where Democratic leaders have vowed to reject any move to stop the Affordable Care Act.

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